DeSaulnier and Smurthwaite Represent CCC on NAIA Association of Student Athletes
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The NAIA National Office announced today the selection of 16 new representatives to the Association of Student-Athletes (ASA), the NAIA’s student-advocacy arm in its governance structure.
In addition, during their in-person business meeting at the NAIA’s 75th National Convention in Kansas City April 15-19, the current representatives to the ASA elected Tyler Lucas, a junior cross country runner at IU Kokomo, as the 2016-17 chair and Jessica Chase, a junior volleyball player at Vanguard (Calif.), as the 2016-17 vice chair. Lucas and Chase officially take office on June 1 when the new members of the ASA begin their two-year terms.
“It’s a great organization and a great association to be a part of,” Tevin Hopkins, current ASA Chair and senior track athlete from St. Francis (Ill.), said. “I really wish I didn’t have to leave after graduation, but I know that the ASA is in great hands with Tyler and Jessica.”
Members of the ASA were selected from a pool of nominees forwarded to the National Office by each conference and the Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.). The make-up of the ASA requires that each conference and each NAIA championship sport have at least one representative.
“The ASA accomplished a lot in its first year, and we hope to accomplish even more next year,” Lucas said. “But to do that, I’m going to need the help of all the ASA representatives, so I want to work on fostering a productive relationship with each member of the group and then work together to facilitate better communication with all student-athletes in the NAIA.”
Lucas will also serve as the co-chair on the Council for Student-Athletes (CSA). In total, 11 representatives from the ASA will serve on the CSA, including the four ASA officers and an additional seven at-large representatives.
The CSA evaluates and creates policy related to student-athlete health and well-being, whereas, the ASA is able to discuss any issue of importance to the student-athletes. During its first year, the ASA took positions on topics such as five seasons of eligibility, drug testing and education, graduate student eligibility, the formation of conference student-athlete advocacy groups, and more.
The student-athletes sponsored one piece of legislation at the 2016 national convention and co-sponsored another four proposals, all of which passed. The students hope to take an even more active role in proposing student-centric policies going forward.
During their April business meeting, the student representatives to the ASA voted to sponsor legislation at the 2017 national convention that would move the cross country national championships to a Thursday. Additionally, they took steps to continue discussions regarding the adoption of a national cause for the NAIA and policies that would more easily allow NAIA student-athletes to continue collegiate competition during graduate school.
“The perspectives of current and future student-athletes must be central to all our efforts if we are to provide a meaningful foundation for the NAIA’s future,” Jim Carr, NAIA President and CEO, said. “These young people represent not only our present, but our future and will help us determine the path of success. We need to involve them in the development and delivery of innovative ideas and approaches and do that on issues that are important to them.”
2016-2017 ASA Members*
| First Name |
Last Name |
School |
Conference |
Sport |
Type of Rep |
Term |
| Taylor |
Abraham |
York College (Neb.) |
KCAC |
Volleyball |
Conf Rep |
2018 |
| Josh |
Beams |
IU Southeast |
KIAC |
Baseball |
At Large |
2018 |
| Austin |
Blaue |
Ottawa (Kan.) |
KCAC |
Men’s Golf |
At Large |
2017 |
| Sidney |
Bosley |
Concordia (Mich.) |
WHAC |
Women’s Indoor Track & Field |
At Large |
2017 |
| Joseph |
Caldwell |
Dillard (La.) |
GCAC |
Men’s Outdoor Track & Field |
Conf Rep |
2018 |
| Jessica |
Chase |
Vanguard (Calif.) |
GSAC |
Volleyball |
Conf Rep |
2017 |
| Connor |
Clements |
Georgia Gwinnett |
A.I.I. |
Men’s Tennis |
Conf Rep |
2017 |
| Sal |
Cordova |
Purdue Calumet (Ind.) |
CCAC |
Men’s Cross Country |
Conf Rep |
2018 |
| Taylor |
Cowan |
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) |
Heart |
Volleyball |
Conf Rep |
2017 |
| Olivia |
Darley |
Truett-McConnell (Ga.) |
AAC |
Softball |
Conf Rep |
2017 |
| Ben |
DeSaulnier |
Southern Oregon |
Cascade |
DII Men’s Basketball |
At Large |
2018 |
| Hassan |
Doghman |
Michigan-Dearborn |
WHAC |
DII Men’s Basketball |
Conf Rep |
2018 |
| Danielle |
Ducklow |
Viterbo (Wis.) |
North Star |
Women’s Golf |
At Large |
2018 |
| Sammantha |
Fajardo |
UC Merced |
Cal-Pac |
Women’s Cross Country |
Conf Rep |
2017 |
| Molly |
Fitzpatrick |
Grace (Ind.) |
Crossroads |
Women’s Tennis |
Conf Rep |
2018 |
| Caroline |
Goodin |
Oklahoma City |
SAC |
Women’s Golf |
At Large |
2017 |
| BJ |
Groskreutz |
Northwestern (Iowa) |
GPAC |
Wrestling |
Conf Rep |
2017 |
| Brett |
Hodges |
William Woods (Mo.) |
AMC |
Men’s soccer |
Conf Rep |
2017 |
| Heidi |
Huebner |
Viterbo (Wis.) |
North Star |
DII Women’s Basketball |
Conf Rep |
2018 |
| Aaron |
Laflin |
UC Merced |
Cal-Pac |
DI Men’s Basketball |
At Large |
2018 |
| Joshua |
Lay |
Bethel (Tenn.) |
Mid-South |
Men’s Swimming & Diving |
Conf Rep |
2017 |
| JT |
Linder |
Carroll (Mont.) |
Frontier |
Football |
Conf Rep |
2017 |
| Tressa |
Linson |
Lyon (Ark.) |
AMC |
DI Women’s Basketball |
At Large |
2018 |
| Tyler |
Lucas |
IU Kokomo |
KIAC |
Men’s Cross Country |
Conf Rep |
2017 |
| Taylor |
McClanahan |
Central Christian (Kan.) |
A.I.I. |
Competitive Cheer |
Conf Rep |
2018 |
| Abbie-Leigh |
Meneses |
UC Merced |
Cal-Pac |
Women’s Soccer |
At Large |
2018 |
| Michelle |
Murch |
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
The Sun |
Softball |
Conf Rep |
2018 |
| Sasha |
Newman |
Dillard (La.) |
GCAC |
Women’s Outdoor Track & Field |
At Large |
2018 |
| Madison |
Osterlund |
Thomas (Ga.) |
The Sun |
Women’s Swimming & Diving |
At Large |
2017 |
| Elizabeth |
Rodriguez |
Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) |
RRAC |
Softball |
Conf Rep |
2017 |
| Deshawn |
Ruffin |
Dalton State (Ga.) |
SSAC |
DI Men’s Basketball |
Conf Rep |
2018 |
| Chad |
Smurthwaite |
Warner Pacific (Ore.) |
Cascade |
Men’s Cross Country |
Conf Rep |
2017 |
| An'Jolique |
Woodson |
Southwest (N.M.) |
RRAC |
DI Women’s Basketball |
At Large |
2018 |
| OPEN |
|
|
SAC |
|
Conf Rep |
2018 |
*Nominations for representatives of Women’s Indoor Track & Field and Competitive Dance and the conference representatives to the SAC had not been received at the time of this release.